Spider silk is a natural fiber with exceptional properties. Dragline silks in particular possess tensile strength equal to, and a toughness that exceeds, KEVLAR™ (Gosline et al., Endeavour, 10, 37-43, (1986); Denny, M. W. J. Exp. Biol., 65, 483-506 (1976); and Lucas, F. Discovery, 25, 20-26(1964)). As a silk fiber, spider silk has the texture and flexibility of silk produced by silkworms (e.g., Bombyx mori). Thus, spider silk can be processed, woven, and dyed in the same manner and using the same equipment used for the processing of silkworm silk. However, spider silk has much more strength and elasticity than silk derived from the silkworm, giving textiles derived from spider silk unique properties. Spider silk can be used as a direct replacement for KEVLAR™, Spectra™, and other high strength fibers giving stronger, lighter, and more flexible products.
Spider silk is composed of large proteins, made up of alternating beta sheets and amorphous domains (Lucase, F. et al, J. Text Inst., 46, T440-T452 (1985); Hepburn, H. R. et al. Insect BioChem., 9, 69-77 (1979); and Warwicker, J. O., J. Mol. Biol., 2, 350-362 (1960)). The beta sheet domains are believed to be responsible for the strength of silks. It has been suggested that similar to rubber, the elasticity of spider silk is entropy driven, and that the amorphous sections between the beta sheets are responsible for much of the elasticity (Gosline et al, Nature, 309, 551-552, (1984); Hepburn, H. R. et al, Insect Biochem., 9, 69-77 (1979)).
The formation of silk from the precursor dope solution is a complex biological, chemical, and physical process. This complex interaction has apparently been maximized in arthropods such as spiders and moths, but has yet to be replicated artificially by humans.
For example, the genes for several spider silks have been identified and cloned. Also, attempts have been made to design peptides that display similar biological and physiological characteristics to spider silk (i.e., “spider silk analogs). Expression of such native spider silk peptides and potential spider silk analog peptides in bacteria, insect cell lines, goats, and plants has been achieved. However, attempts to spin silk from the purified precursors have not met with success, in part because the resulting fiber(s) did not properly replicate the qualities of native spider silk.
Spiders are solitary, cannibalistic arthropods and as such, are not particularly well suited for use as bioreactors. Additionally, spiders only produce short segments of fiber in limited quantities. Silkworms, on the other hand, produce filaments exceeding 1000 meters in length. Additionally, silkworms produce large quantities of silk; the annual world production approaches 100 million kilograms. Bombyx mori silkworms have been used as a bioreactor to produce a number of proteins and peptides, but the expression systems have generally been found to be relatively unstable and of short duration. Also, the exact mechanisms for the synthesis, modification, internal transport, and spinning of the silk fiber in Bombyx mori are not clearly known. Until these mechanisms are elucidated, the use of the natural genetic, cellular, and organelle/organ systems are most likely to give large quantities of high quality silk fiber.
Production of transgenic silkworms by use of piggyBac transposons is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,872,869, where a portion of a spider silk gene was fused with a portion of the light chain fibroin of Bombyx under the control of the promoter of the light chain fibroin. The in-frame fusion gene was linked to a reporter gene and then the construct was ligated in between two inverted terminal repeats of the piggyback transposon. The first plasmid having the fusion gene and insertion sequences was transfected with a second plasmid encoding the transposase into silkworm eggs. These insertions produced silk reported to be 30% spider silk mixed with normal Bombyx silk. As the silkworm heavy fibroin chain is approximately 340 kilodaltons (kD), and the fusion protein was about 30 kD, a 30% level of spider silk should in fact, correspond to a weight percent of about 5-15%. Thus, because the natural genes are still present and active, the silk produced using these systems includes a significant amount of the less desirous Bombyx silk. Similar results of 10% levels of spider silk in silkworms have been informally reported by another group (see e.g., Zhang et al, Mol Biol Rep. 2007 May 25; 17525867, and the Times (UK) 10 Dec. 2007).
Thus, there is a significant problem in producing high strength spider silk, or spider silk analogs, from silkworms. It would be beneficial to produce silkworms that can generate significant amounts of spider silk, or a spider silk analog, that exhibits the characteristics of spider silk. The present invention addresses this problem by using the Bombyx silkworm, which is well-suited as a bioreactor, to produce a silk that solely or primarily consists of spider silk, or a spider silk analog, with little or no contamination by the lower strength natural Bombyx silk.